October 25, 2017 at 12:48 p.m.
Hodag mountain bikers finish eighth in state league
Hodag mountain bikers finish eighth in state league
The five-race series concluded Sunday with the state championship race at Iola Winter Sports Park.
When the dust - or more appropriately the mud on a rainy final day - settled, the Hodags had four high school bikers finish in the top 10 of their respective division and four more middle schoolers crack the top 10 in their age groups.
Entering the day Lakeland's Johanna Craig, racing under the Rhinelander-Northwoods composite banner, was locked in a dead heat in the sophomore girls' standings with South Eau Clarie's Madelyn Anderson. Anderson edged out Craig in the championship duel, beating Craig to the finish line by less than 34 seconds in a race that took just over an hour to complete.
"They were back and forth all year," RNC coach Joel Flory said. "Johanna is an incredible racer and so is Maddie. Those two were just neck and neck all year. It was neat to see how hard they worked and it creates some extra drive for them for next time."
In the junior varsity girls' division, Alexis Pyrchalla finished eighth on the day and seventh in the final standings. Teammate Emma Hjelle was 10th on the day and finished ninth in class. Gwyneth Lowry mirrored Hjelle's results in the freshman girls' division, taking 10th on the day and ninth overall.
"I thought it was a pretty strong finish for our high school team," Flory said. "The girls were the ones who pulled all the weight on that, between Alexis, Emma and Gwyneth. They accounted for most of our points every race. They were a big plus for us. It was nice to see."
Rhinelander had four riders in the JV Division 2 boys' race. Freddy Wisner finished 24th Sunday and in the final overall standings. Hunter Bachmann was 28th on the day and 33rd overall. Mechanical problems plagued Rhinelander's two other riders. Bridger Flory had worked his way from the back of the pack to inside the top 10 when his chain failed, knocking him out of the race. Garrett Bachmann also experienced a chain malfunction and finished last in the D2 field.
"That's one of those things, in bike racing, the equipment has to last as much as your body and it didn't work so well for some people," Joel Flory said.
Garrett Bachmann finished 45th in the final JV D2 boys' standings. Bridger Flory, who missed the first three races of the season due to injury, finished 61st thanks to Sunday's DNF.
Four of the team's five riders on the middle school side placed inside the top 10 in their age groups. Jakob Craig won the eighth-grade boys' race. Megan Lester and Sage Flory finished third and fourth, respectively, in the eighth-grade girls' race.
"Jakob, an incredible racer and a good kid. The numbers show it right there. He'll be moving up to the high school next year at the freshman level," Joel Flory said. "Megan Lester is a really strong rider and great kid from Three Lakes. Having her take Sage under her wing and introduce it to her a bit was really nice because it gave Sage someone to follow. If you can follow Megan, it's going to put you in a great position."
Joey Belanger was ninth in the sixth-grade boys' class while Gavin Denis placed 18th in that division.
Though, according to Joel Flory, the team's rider count stabilized in the team's second season, he called the year vital in building the infrastructure for future expansion.
"I think the interest is there and we just need to make it available to more kids," he said. "The community support is there and the coaching is there, so I think we're ready to take on a few more kids. And that will put us in a better position for the future."
The team will bid farewell to seniors Hunter and Garrett Bachmann, but the majority of the squad is slated to return for 2018.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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